


Bliss

by icedcoffeebro



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), Misery - Stephen King
Genre: Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Kissing, M/M, Part of a SMAU Twitter, sharing the bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedcoffeebro/pseuds/icedcoffeebro
Summary: Bill takes a small 'vacation' at Paul's house.*Part of Chapter Three, Social Media AU on Twitter
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Paul Sheldon
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Bliss

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my twitter au: 
> 
> https://twitter.com/lTCHAPTERTWO/status/1189288888994582534?s=20
> 
> Fancast for Paul is Chris Pine.
> 
> Also. This is lowkey sad.

**May 16**

Paul spends most of his time in San Diego alone. And sometimes it is too much. Because there’s ghosts. Because it all comes back. Because he doesn’t trust himself.

So it’s rough.

He’s getting a cup of tea out of the microwave and side eyeing his medicine cabinet when his doorbell sounds. He frowns, as he’s not expecting anyone. He crosses the open space between his kitchen and entrance _(he’s had enough locked doors for a lifetime)_ , and opens the door, finding Bill Denbrough on his doorstep. 

“Hey the–” he says, a soft smile forming of his lips, and Bill hugs Paul and puts his face on his neck, “woah,” Paul says, patting Bill’s back, then returning the hug, “what’s wrong?”

“Can I stay here?” Bill says, muffled against Paul’s soft sweater, enjoying the smell of _cleaness._

“Sure,” Paul says, a hint of surprise on his voice, “Bill, what happened?”

“Richie was an asshole, that’s what happened,” Bill says, resentful. 

“Hm,” Paul is rubbing Bill’s back, and the back of his head, feeling Bill’s soft hair and running his fingers through it. It had just been four days since the last time he had seen him. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss him deeply. Which didn’t mean he was happy Bill and Richie were on a feud, just that he was glad to see him, to hold him.

Because oh, it gets so very lonely.

Paul had considered moving in back with his third ex-wife when the sheer loneliness started, but it seemed like a setback rather than going forward. And Paul needed to keep going forward in order to heal. So, he moved to San Diego, and now he spent a lot of time in Tijuana too. 

And weed is legal here, which was better than the _alternative._

“You wanna get changed?” Paul says, after a bit of holding Bill like this, uncertain of whether he had fallen asleep on him, like this, but he feels him nod his head, resting on his shoulder, he smiles a little, “c’mon, let’s get you to a shower,”

***

Bill hadn’t explained much what had happened to Paul. He had just told him he had been having some issues with Richie, which Paul already knew from that disastrous recording.

And he also suspected he had some role on those tensions, but at this point in his life, he couldn’t care less. A man learns to stop caring about other people’s personal relationships after three divorces.

Bill is sitting on his couch, eating ice-cream and watching Friends, wearing Paul’s clothes, a wine colored cardigan– too big for him in every part, and since he doesn’t buy flannels– buttons aren’t accessible for him–, he looks different, softer, and Bill Denbrough is already soft as they come, so Paul can’t help getting on the couch beside him, and Bill, clingy as he is, cuddles closer, resting his head on Paul’s chest. 

Paul likes Bill, he’s easy to be around, and he isn’t desperate to fill the silences with words. He can hold a conversation on his own, and it’s like watching a spectacle unfold in front of him. It’s like watching his entire train of thought as he talks. 

Bill turns to look at him, catching him looking at him, Paul just smiles, and Bill reaches to kiss him. 

And it’s pure glory.

***

“Do you have oatmeal?” Bill says, looking at the fridge later that night.

“Uh,” Paul stands up from the reclining chair next to the couch, taking off his reading glasses and getting behind Bill, looking over his shoulder inside the fridge, “no, I don’t think so,”

“Hm,” Bill says, then turns to face Paul, looking up to see him, “I’m sorry I’m here under these circumstances,” he quickly glances at Paul’s lips before looking at his eyes again, Paul smirks, Bill returns the smile, then lightly slaps Paul’s chest with the back of his hand, “tell you what, we go out tonight, all on me,”

Paul rolls his eyes, smiling, “You’re my guest,”

“And I’m trying to be a stellar one,” Bill says, “is there any place within walking distance?” 

“Plenty,” Paul says, getting pulled by Bill to the exit door, laughing as if they were going on a big adventure.

***

Because of accessibility reasons, Paul’s house only has one floor. And because of California housing prices, it only has one room.

He apologizes for it, but Bill shrugs it off, “I’ll sleep in the couch,” he says, already heading there.

Paul considers the state this man arrived at his doorstep; utterly exhausted, hurting (he had given him some of his weed), so he says, “You can sleep next to me,” Bill does a 180º turn on his feet to see Paul, a raised eyebrow, “I mean, if you want,”

Bill then tilts his head, considering.

Sleeping next to Richie was one thing; he had known him for years, and they had no romantic intentions with each other– at least he didn’t. But he liked Paul, and he feared being seen so vulnerable. 

But he’s also forty one years old, and he can’t put his body through another night in a couch.

Since he walked out with nothing but what he had on his person, Bill has to borrow one of Paul’s pijamas; which again, are a bit too loose on him, which only makes Paul throw heart-eyed looks at him.

Bill gets under the covers as Paul sits on the edge of the bed, taking his prosthetic off. Which takes effort, but he seems to be getting the hang of it. Bill doesn’t say anything.

He gets under the covers, facing Bill, “Goodnight, Bill,” he says.

“Night,” Bill says back.

***

**May 17**

Bill wakes up first.

Paul has been upfront about his night horrors– how the terror Annie Wilkes inflicted on him still haunts him–, so he expected some sort of disruption to occur during the night. But he sees a very peaceful Paul sleeping blissfully. And he can’t help but smile. 

He gets up, ready to start the day.

“Stay,” a barely awake Paul says, “there’s no rush,” he says.

And how could Bill ever deny such a request?

***

Their entire day is spent in bed, and it feels so domestic it almost scares Bill. Because it’s so real. Because he can picture himself doing this many more times, with Paul or another man. The feeling fills him with a sort of happiness he can’t explain. It’s just _right_.

Being away from Richie isn’t necessarily _good,_ but Richie needs so much of his attention at some times, it’s nice to just _be_ with someone. 

He wants to tell Paul all of it. 

Georgie. Neibolt. The forgetting. The remembering. The going back. Chüd. Escaping.

But he’s scared of pushing him away.

So he doesn’t say anything, lets him believe it was just a reunion gone wrong. 

It’s easier to be brave when you’re keeping the ugly bits.

***

**May 18**

Bill wouldn’t call this relationship an _anything_.

But God, does he enjoy kissing Paul Sheldon. 

If their relationship didn’t ever pass above kissing, Bill would be okay with that. Because Paul is such a good kisser. Bill finds himself daydreaming about it while laying in bed next to him, while watching a movie, while eating breakfast together. 

It’s all so natural. And Bill feels unease on his chest. But everytime he feels that, he reaches for the back of Paul’s neck and kisses him deeply. Just like that, all worries dissipate. 

He wants to tell Paul this. He wants to tell him so much.

***

**May 19**

They’re laying on the sofa making out like a pair of teenagers, Bill on top, making Paul make the effort to reach him, probably straining his neck. But Paul doesn’t mind, he’s in constant pain anyway, and Bill is worth it. 

It all feels like a summer fling. Bill knows he can’t stay at Paul’s forever, specially with the anniversary of the _reunion_ just days away. 

But his phone is turned off, no one knows where he is, and he’s never enjoyed kissing more than now. 

After a while, he buries his face on Paul’s henley, breathing in his smell. Drowning on it. 

Paul then pulls his hair lightly, prompting a moan from Bill. Paul raises his eyebrow, and Bill is thoroughly embarrassed and seems about to go on a tangent about it. So Paul reaches for his mouth to shut him up before he has the chance to start. He teases by biting his lower lip lightly, and Bill seems to be making a huge effort to stay on top. 

So Paul gently flips him so positions are inverted. 

“S-sorry,” Bill says, pained look on his face mixed with a look of complete bliss as he looks into Paul’s eyes, “it’s just…”

“You haven’t done this before?” Paul asks. Bill sighs and admits it, “I’ll walk you through it,” he says, undoing Bill’s pants.

*** 

Bill lies in bed as Paul is in the bathroom. He considers what just happened; they didn’t go all the way, but he did some stuff he never thought himself possible of doing before.

And the sense of dread was trying to eat him alive, but he was too happy to care about what this meant. 

He was sleeping in another man’s bed, a man who he had done sexual acts with. He was wearing his clothes. This man wouldn’t be gone by morning. 

This all felt like a dream, so once Paul got under the covers, Bill wrapped an arm around him, getting Paul to pull closer to him. Sleeping close together, feeling each other’s breathing.

***

**May 20**

Bill replies to his team. The book launch is in two weeks. He had let them know there would be no press. Paul’s incident had shaken authors across the globe. _Biggest fans_ was now something to dread rather than something to look forward to. 

And the twitter comments weren’t helping, either. 

Paul had admitted he’d never do another signing again. But Bill loves signings. It was a chance to meet his fans, who always had insights into his characters he hadn’t even considered. He’d end up with carpal tunnel from giving his signature out so much. But it was worth every moment. 

Paul, addicted as he was to pain medication, couldn’t afford these things anymore. He had tried over and over to quit. But the phantom pains plagued him, he limped everywhere he went, and living without one of his thumbs was inconvenient. So he took painkillers while attending narcotics anonymous. Making no progress, but having a support system for when he was ready to. 

Bill didn’t judge him for any of this. He thinks of Dan, who sees ghosts, and now Paul, who sees his abuser as one and has permanent reminders of what he went through. 

And then, himself. Who lost his brother, who saw a kid be eaten, who saw his first friend skewered by a paranormal entity. 

And so, he tells everything to Paul. Every detail, every vision. And Paul listens. And he asks him if it’s the story he told months ago. And between tears and sobs, Bill tells him how real it all is, how horrible. And Paul holds him, and Bill doesn’t care if he doesn’t believe him. 

At least he knows now.

***

He cries so hard he ends up asleep on Paul’s chest. He’s reading on his phone, holding it with a Pop Socket with his left hand, while scrolling with his right.

Bill thinks he could get used to this. 

“Hi,” he says, looking up at Paul with dreamy eyes.

Paul locks his phone and looks down at him.

“Hi,”

Bill props himself up to kiss Paul, and Paul immediately grabs on to the back of his neck, running his fingers through Bill’s hair.

Paul is moaning Bill’s name into his mouth, and it’s all a lot for Bill. He feels like he’s up in the clouds. Unable to feel anything but the _here and now_. Paul procedes to kiss his neck, and that does it for Bill.

They go all the way that night. And it’s fucking fantastic. It isn’t what Bill expected. It’s different. It’s everything. It’s pure.

***

**May 21**

The next morning, Paul is writing on his computer while Bill makes some coffe. 

Bill looks over Paul’s shoulder to his screen. He has a Word document open and he is typing quickly.

He had told Bill he struggled a lot to write again. He had even moved here in hopes of it all becoming better. After all, he wrote the entirety of his last book while getting tortured and stuffed with opioids. 

A word stands from the rest to Bill.

 _Eddie_. 

His breath hitches. 

It’s almost been a year. 

Paul notices Bill’s breathing and furrows his brows, “Is something wrong?”

“Eddie,” Bill says in a near whisper. 

“Huh?” Paul looks at the screen, “Yeah, that’s the name of the protagonist,” he looks at Bill again, “named him after a kid that lived across the street when I was a teen,”

Bill shakes his head, “It’s just… the guy I told you got in a coma after the whole ordeal? His name’s Eddie. Eddie Kaspbrak,”

Paul looks like he’s choking on something. Bill looks at him concerned, “Kaspbrak?”

Bill raises an eyebrow, “Yeah,”

“Same Eddie then,”

Bill narrows his eyes, “How can you know?”

“The last name, have you ever heard it anywhere else?” 

Bill tries to object. But Paul is right.

“So, you were friends with him as a teen?” Bill says, trying to sound as casual as he can.

“Yeah,” Paul says, “he’s at a hospital in LA, then?”

“Yes, King Hospital,” Bill says, then adds, “I’m going to see him the day after tomorrow, if you wanna come with,”

Paul shivers, “Nooo, no,” he puts his laptop to the side and crosses his arms, “would imply a trip in the car and I really don’t wanna step into a hospital for a long time,”

Paul had spent nearly 2 months hospital bound due to his injuries. It had taken him a while to look like he looked now; healthy.

“Oh, sorry,” Bill says, his mind still on Eddie, “didn’t think about it,”

“Don’t worry,” Paul says, looking at his hands, “I hope he wakes up, he was a real good friend,”

“The best,” Bill says.

***

**May 22**

At noon, Bill is ready to go.

“Stay a little longer,” Paul says, biting at his neck lightly, Bill immediately lets himself fall into his lap. 

They spend the entire noon like this, until Bill leaves at 7.

**Author's Note:**

> Pls comment and leave kudos!
> 
> Yes I wanted to make this longer


End file.
